Time for action on refugees

Forced migration and displaced populations demand collective action

Our world is facing a tremendous challenge.

Millions of migrants are crossing borders around the globe, risking their lives to escape the effects of violence, war and climate change. It is no exaggeration to say that we are in the midst of the greatest refugee crisis our planet has seen since the Second World War.

For nearly a year now, my mission has been focused on the plight of the Rohingya refugees from Rakhine State as Canada’s Special Envoy to Myanmar.

In little more than two years, nearly one million Rohingya have flowed over the border into neighbouring Bangladesh, forced to live in overpopulated, makeshift camps with ripe conditions for disease and exploitation. Hundreds of thousands more — their homes burnt and destroyed — are displaced within Myanmar, locked into villages with little access to food and humanitarian assistance.

A recent UN report following an independent fact-finding mission in the region calls the violence genocide — a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” by Buddhist attackers. It states that “gross” violations to human rights and international humanitarian law have taken place over the last year. The overall number of dead is unclear.

It is easy, and all too common, to cite religion as a tool to promote division, misunderstanding and violence against others. But it is my view that what’s happening in Myanmar and around the world has more to do with intolerance and hatred — a failure to appreciate the humanity that we share — than with spiritual beliefs.

In fact, religion remains a positive and powerful motivating force for literally billions of people around the world. It is a sentiment that will be celebrated in Toronto this November at the 2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions. Thousands of people from around the world will attend this massive interfaith gathering to share their perspectives and inspirations for working toward a better world.

First held in Chicago in 1893, the Parliament has a long and distinguished history of bringing diverse cultures together. Now 125 years on, this event exposes participants to more than 200 unique religious and faith traditions practised around the world. It is a unique opportunity for people from different faiths and cultural backgrounds to discuss modern issues of sustainability and human rights, and to carefully consider the role we all play in strengthening our own communities.

Toronto is a fitting host. A worldclass city, it has seen its share of trials and division, overcoming its own religious conflicts in the course of its history. Here, we have moved from simply tolerating each other to learning how to celebrate who we are — for both our differences and the many common values that we share.

Hosting the Parliament is an opportunity for Toronto and Canada to take a leadership role on the world stage in recognizing the impact different groups, religious or otherwise, can have when we actively work together.

Forced migrations and displaced populations are complex geopolitical events, and they require complex solutions. Many countries today appear to be retreating into themselves, and that is a mistake. History has proven that isolation will not solve our problems. And collectively,

In little more than two years, nearly one million Rohingya have flowed over the border into neighbouring Bangladesh

we must work against it.

There will always be people who say the expense to help is too high. That those in need are too different, or the crisis is not theirs to address. These voices grow louder during every major humanitarian crisis and migration throughout the decades.

So now, those of us who believe in the good of humanity must speak louder too. The situation facing the Rohingya people will be a very real issue faced by the world for some time. It will not quickly or quietly go away. There will be ample opportunity to discuss our global crises at the Parliament this year, and I hope that there will be a broader international consensus as to what needs to be done — and a political willingness to get there.

It’s impossible to say there’s a quick fix. There isn’t. It is going to take a huge amount of time and effort to properly assist the Rohingya and other migrant groups, and to eventually start moving them forward.

But what we can do is set aside our differences and work toward a better, more sustainable future for our planet and the billions who call it home.

What we can do is recognize that we must do more.

Former Premier of Ontario, MP and currently Canada’s Special Envoy to Myanmar, Bob Rae is a lawyer and community activist. He is the Chair of the Advisory Committee for the 2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions, hosted in Toronto this November 1-7.